| Summary: | Endosymbiotic bacteria of the Rickettsiales order are capable of influencing host reproduction to facilitate bacterial spread. The consequences of these bacterial infections on the host species include rapid speciation, sex-ratio distortions, reduced fertility of uninfected species and incompatability between breeding populations. This study investigated the presence and identity of endosymbiotic bacteria in two marine species, Calanus helgolandicus and Homarus gammarus using electron microscopy and molecular genetic methods. The results indicated that the endosymbiotic bacteria of C. helgolandicus are isolated to the reproductive tissues. Phylogenetic analyses of these endosymbiotic bacteria reveal that they may be novel species of bacteria belonging to the Rickettsiales order. The endosymbiotic bacteria of H. gammarus showed sequence similarities to Wolbachia. The spread of Rickettsiales bacteria in the marine environment has not been addressed previously and the potential population and evolutionary imphcations for infected populations make the study of Rickettsiales infection in the marine environment a very important area of research. This is the first study of zooplankton artliropods that has revealed associations with endosymbiotic bacteria belonging to the Rickettsiales providing a starting point for future work. Faculty of Science, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation of Ocean Science, Plymouth, UK
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